Feshchenko V.S. Philosophical and Religious Searches for Truth in Art at the Turn of the XIXth and the XXth Centuries

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of Neo Byzantium art in relation to the philosophical-religious environment at the tun of the XIXth and the XXth centuries. The main purpose of the research is to describe parallels and contradictions that can be found in researches of the leading philosophers of those times (V. Soloviev, V. Ivanov, S. Bulgakov, P. Florensky and N. Berdyaev) and to compare their views with the religious-national themes in the art of their contemporaries such as V. Vasnetsov, M. Nesterov and M. Vrubel. The subject of the research is the causes of the decline of religiosity in the society against the background of the uprise of philosophy and religion and ideology of art. The method of the comparative analysis of researches by religious philosophers of the turn of the XIXth and the XXth centuries with reference to religious art is being viewed from the point of view of the teachings of the church and representatives of true historical Christianity. Having analyzed various views of religious philosophers on the nature and purpose of theurgic creativity, the author of the article concludes that from the point of view of terminology it would be more reasonable to look at theurgy from the point of view of the medieval theological-philosophical idea of synergy. When being applied to art, this concept has the two elements that are equally important, the element of human ascension and the element of God's descent. This approach allows to better understand the spiritual essence of icon-painting and gives an opportunity to better formulate a universal definition of free spiritual art for all the time. 

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